Very entertaining and informative read, thank you. We visited Sainte-Marguerite not too long ago and saw the cell where he was held. The view from the cell through the iron bars was amazing, and it had to be heartbreaking to be cut off from such beauty.
I saved this for a slow read and definitely learned a lot. To be honest, I thought the man was a fictional character and knew nothing of the historical background. I'm curious how long it takes you to put together an article like this.
Glad to have helped! As for how long, it's one of those pieces of string questions. It can go quite quickly if I write about a topic I already know about. I do some quick background reading, 1-2 hours, flip through any books I might have at hand (2-3 hours), and write an outline. Then the work begins! Some simple topics can be written in an hour or two (at least a first draft) while others can take several days... after it's written, there's the research for additional sources, cross-checking facts (especially in history, where everyone disagrees!), finding images... that can take a good half a day. So I would say, in all, between 2-3 days, but that's really an average. It takes me as long to write a post for my travel blog, so that doesn't leave much time for promotion, collaboration, TRAVEL! And it explains why I don't get enough sleep... 😂
Thank you for your answer! It’s interesting to read about your process. I’m not surprised whatsoever by the time this all takes. I don’t do serious historical research for my pieces, but I do some research, and lately I’ve started to try to dive into a book about a place that I buy on-site. I read it after I get back.
For example, I read a whole book about Alès before writing about it — one of those régionalisme books with nice photos but legitimate text written by a local historian. I took a few notes and used a bit of the content, but it mainly helped me get immersed in the place I had just visited.
I think “le tout dans le tout,” without counting travel, a more research-heavy piece takes me about 8-10 hours and a lighter, more personal piece, 5-8. It does add up, However I don’t sacrifice sleep!
I've never been fast, either reading or writing, so research-led content creation is definitely a challenge! I also always buy a book when I go somewhere - and sometimes I even read it!! :-)
Very entertaining and informative read, thank you. We visited Sainte-Marguerite not too long ago and saw the cell where he was held. The view from the cell through the iron bars was amazing, and it had to be heartbreaking to be cut off from such beauty.
I saved this for a slow read and definitely learned a lot. To be honest, I thought the man was a fictional character and knew nothing of the historical background. I'm curious how long it takes you to put together an article like this.
Glad to have helped! As for how long, it's one of those pieces of string questions. It can go quite quickly if I write about a topic I already know about. I do some quick background reading, 1-2 hours, flip through any books I might have at hand (2-3 hours), and write an outline. Then the work begins! Some simple topics can be written in an hour or two (at least a first draft) while others can take several days... after it's written, there's the research for additional sources, cross-checking facts (especially in history, where everyone disagrees!), finding images... that can take a good half a day. So I would say, in all, between 2-3 days, but that's really an average. It takes me as long to write a post for my travel blog, so that doesn't leave much time for promotion, collaboration, TRAVEL! And it explains why I don't get enough sleep... 😂
Thank you for your answer! It’s interesting to read about your process. I’m not surprised whatsoever by the time this all takes. I don’t do serious historical research for my pieces, but I do some research, and lately I’ve started to try to dive into a book about a place that I buy on-site. I read it after I get back.
For example, I read a whole book about Alès before writing about it — one of those régionalisme books with nice photos but legitimate text written by a local historian. I took a few notes and used a bit of the content, but it mainly helped me get immersed in the place I had just visited.
I think “le tout dans le tout,” without counting travel, a more research-heavy piece takes me about 8-10 hours and a lighter, more personal piece, 5-8. It does add up, However I don’t sacrifice sleep!
I've never been fast, either reading or writing, so research-led content creation is definitely a challenge! I also always buy a book when I go somewhere - and sometimes I even read it!! :-)
I hadn't thought of it that way - completely agree! A magnificent setting but sadly so for so many years...